Hannah Montana writer says Disney show was ‘terrified’ to have gay character
Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana (Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images for HRTS)
A writer for Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana has shared his “regret” over the stereotypical gay character that appears in pilot, and explains how the show was “terrified” to write a canonically gay character.
Hannah Montana writer and executive producer Douglas Danger Lieblein and director Shannon Flynn joined Jason Earles, who plays Jackson Stewart, on Best of Both Our Worlds, the show’s unofficial podcast, to talk about all things Hannah Montana, including its queer-coded characters.
The topic of lead character Miley’s (Miley Cyrus) popstar disguise brought the conversation around to her effeminate stylist Fermine (played by Matt Winston), who appeared in the pilot episode, which prompted Leiblein to express his thoughts on the character.
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“No offence to the actor but the way he played that part was a cartoon,” he said. “He was two-dimensional. And the thing that bothered me most… we were so afraid to create a gay character on a kid’s television show.”
He continued: “[This was] 20 years ago, just remember the world we lived in. So the mistake that was made that I think bugged me the most is that we made him a stereotype. All of his humour came from his gay and swishiness, which I think is horrific to me. It’s like the biggest mistake you can make. And it is just an insult.”
Lieblein then brought up Albert Dontzig, the recurring obnoxious neighbour character who would show up at the Stewart family’s Malibu beach house to annoy them from time to time. The character was played by twin actors Paul and Peter Vogt.
Comparing Fermine to Dontzig, Lieblein continued: “Dontzig, who wasn’t a gay character but I always thought was gay in my head – he plays that character and the humour of Dontzig comes from his persnicketiness, and not his gayness.”
“One of the best guest casts in the entire run of the show,” added Earles.
“But it’s also written different,” Lieblein concluded.
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